10 best GBA games, ranked
17.01.2024 - 15:03
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Nintendo is indisputably the king of the handheld console. Starting with the original handheld Game Boy back in 1989, all the way up to the hybrid Nintendo Switch console in 2017, no other gaming company has come close to the type of market share Nintendo enjoys with its handhelds. In fact, the Nintendo DS is the all-time top selling portable console ever, but that wouldn’t have existed if not for its groundbreaking predecessor: the Game Boy Advance (GBA).
Released in 2001, it was a technological leap from Nintendo’s previous handheld, the Game Boy Color. It was a 32-bit system that — unlike previous Game Boy systems — had a landscape orientation with buttons on the side, which were more like a regular console controller.
It had about 15 hours of playtime and a Dual 8-bit DAC for stereo sound (basically, it sounded really good for a handheld). At the time of its release, the system rapidly became Nintendo’s best-selling of all time, until the DS dethroned it in 2009.
Of course, no system is worth its salt without good games, and Nintendo has never been lacking in that department. The GBA had some of the best, most advanced games for a handheld that had all of the inherent charm expected from Nintendo.
It’s probably no surprise that the first three best selling games on the system were Pokémon games, but the GBA really had some gems. Some standouts include: Golden Sun, Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town, Fire Emblem, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 and even Mario Golf: Advance Tour. Alright enough fluffing you up. Without further ado, here’s a list of the 10 best games for the Game Boy Advance!
10. Mario Kart Super Circuit
Multiplayer is the name of the game here. Mario Kart games are like pizza, it’s hard for it to be bad, no matter how you’re consuming it. This, however, is one of the better ones. Released in 2001, it had all the markings of what makes a kart racing game shine.
As an added bonus, there were a ton of unlockables in the game, including tracks from the original SNES outing and more cups to win. In all, you get about 40 tracks, which is huge considering it’s a handheld game. Nothing really comes close to the multiplayer aspect of this game. If you were lucky enough to find people to play with, it was practically unforgettable.
9. Golden Sun
Every Nintendo console, handheld or otherwise, has top-level JRPGs, and the Golden Sun stands out among the best of any system. Its soundtrack and visuals were ahead of its time, and the game was about as accessible as a JRPG can get.
One of the things that can diminish the experience of a game like this is the battle system, but Golden Sun managed to keep things fresh with its strategic use of the common turn-based system. You really had to think your